Chair



Aug. 13,' 1957 R. W. NINDE CHAIR Filed Feb. 16, 1955 Hg. 2 INVENTOR'. R. W /V/'nde BY My 2' r United SfateflatefifO V `z,802,514 i j cHAm `4 i Richard w. Ninae, oireyvine, Kans. Application February 16, 1955, serial No. 488,470

z olims. (cl. 155-54) This inventon vrelates to furniture, and more partiularly, but not lby wayof limitation,' to a spring supportedchair' or similar furniture for seating purposes.

Many present day spring supported chairs, and particularly the chair structure disclosed in the Lukins patent, No. 2,537,071, issued on January 9, 1951, have a detrimental tendency in that they are susceptible to tipping forward, thereby causing an up-ending and dislodging the occupant thereof. This is sometimes a hazard because upon tipping forward, the chair will often slip out from under the occupant, and may cause an injury thereto. The present inventon contemplates an improvement in the design of spring supported chairs of the type disclosed in the aforementioned Lukins patent by providing an improved and novel means of attaching, or securing the spring to the base portion of the chair. The` novel chairpis provided with a base which utilizes a cut-away portion to complement an extending tongue shaped member providing a curved bulged portion in order to substantially preclude the possibility of forward tipping of the chair even when the weight of the user is disposed at the extreme outer edge thereof.

.It is, therefore, an important object of this inventon to provide an improved spring supported chair which is` designed and constructed to substantially preclude a forward tipping thereof, and thereby substantially eliminate the discomfiture and hazardous possibilities resulting therefrom.

It is another object of this inventon to provide an improved spring supported chair which lcnds itself for utilization either as an outdoor lawn chair or an attractive chair for any room within a home or office building, or the like.

It is still another object of this inventon to provide an improved spring supported chair which is so designed and constructed with an upset'forward bulged portion to prevent the possibility of forward tpping thereof.

It is a further object of this inventon to provide an improved spring supported chair which is of simple and economical construction.

Other objects and advantages of the inventon will be evident from the following detailed description, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate my inventon.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is' a side elevational view of a chair embodying the inventon and depicting the action of the base portion in a forward position of the chair in dotted lines as well as a normal position thereof in full lines.

Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the novel base member and showing the chair supportng springs secured thereto.

Referring to the drawings in detail, reference character refers in general to a spring supported chair comprising a back portion 12, a seat 14,-and a pair of side arms 16. It will be apparent that the back 12,

2,802,514 Pat'ented Aug. 13, 1957 ice seat 14, and arms 16 may be either padded and covered with a `fabric or plastic material for utilization in a home or ofice as shown in Fig. 1, or they may be constructed of metallic slats, or the like (not shown),` `for utilization as a lawn chair. `The arms 16 are preferably provided with a rigid support member 18 which maybe constructed of Wood, plastic, or metal, but not limited thereto. The rear portion 20 of the arm support 18 is secured to one side of a chair supporting spring 22 in any suitable manner, such as bolts 24, and at a suitable position relative to the back 12.

The spring 22 is preferably made from flat` carbon spring steel, but not limited thereto, and is of a slightly arcuate configuration to provide a strong, flexible support for the chair 10. Usually two of the springs 22 are provided, but it will beapparent that the inventon is not limited thereto. The base 26 may be constructed offwood, plastic, metal, or the like, and preferably comprises a pair of4 runner shaped members 28 and 30 rigidly spaced apart by any suitable means such as transversely disposed slats 32. The front portions 34 and 36 of the runne'rs 28 and 30, respectively, are provided with arcuate shaped faces 38 and 40 which are disposed in substantial horizontal alignment for receiving the springs 22. The seat 14 is supported by the springs 22 -and is suitably secured thereto in any suitable manner, such as bolts 25,V or the like, and the back 12 is secured to the seat 14 in the usual manner (not shown).

The lower portion 42 of each of the springs 22 is of substantially the same arcuate configuration as the faces 38 and 40 and is disposed adjacent thereto. Substantially identical outwardly and slightly downwardly extending tongue shaped members 44 are provided on the front portions 34 and 36 of the runners 28 and 30. The tongue member 44 are conterminous With a groove 46 disposed on the underside of each runner. The configuration of each tongue 44 is such that upon bendng the lower portion of each spring 22 it conforms substantially to the contour of the outwardly and downwardly extending tongue members 44, and with the extreme end portion secured within the groove 46 by any suitable means, such as the screws 48. The bent spring in conforming to the configuration of the tongue extension 44 provides a substantially upset or bulged portion 45 having a substantially flat underface 47 disposed in a plane slightly below or lower than the horizontal plane of the bottom or underface of the base members 28 and 30 (Fig. 1). The bulged or upset portion 45 acts in the nature of a counter-balance, or stop for any unusual forward 'angular movement of the chair 10 and assists in maintaining the chair in a balanced condition and preclude any forward tipping over thereof.

It has been found in actual practice that the groove 46 and the adjacent tongue member 44 cooperate to provide a stability to the base 26 and the chair 10 which has heretofore not been attainable in chairs of the type herein described.

From the foregoing, it Will be apparent that the present inventon provides an improved spring supported chair which is constructed to substantially preclude the possibility of tipping forward and dislodging the occupant thereof. The base of the chair is provided with a tongue member cooperating with a groove for receiving the chair supporting spring in such a manner as to provide stability to the chair. The simple design and construction of the chair lends itself to beauty of form and case of construction. The construction of the chair may be quickly and economically accomplished, and the results are an eflicient spring supported chair which may be utilized in the home, the oflice or in the out of doors.

Changes maybe made in the combination and arrangement of parts as `heretofore set forth in the specification and shown in the drawingsfit being understood that any modification in .the precise Yernbodiment of the inven Vtion may be. made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of the invention. I il claim: i v

l1.jA base ;member for a .chair comprisingV an elongated runner Vmember having a groove provided on the underside thereof, a chair ,supporting spring carried by the base member having one end'secured in the groove, a downwardly and outwardly extending tongue portion provided on the lower forward .end of Vthe base, said tongue'disposed adjacent the forward .end of thegroove, said spring 'bent to encircle the tongue portion in a manner to provide a loop portion spaced downwardly from the tonguetmem'ber for providing an .upset bulging portion for the spring whereby the runner is maintained in a substantially balanced condition.

2. A 'spring supported Chair comprising a back land a seat, a pair of base members, slightly arcuate spring members secured to each of the base members for flexibly supporting the chairr, each of said base members provided 'with a downwardly and forwardlyex-tending tongue, a groove on the'lower front edge of each of the base members, said spring strip having a lower hori` zontal portion secured at its inner end flat against the i against the forward upper rearwardly, inclined edge of the base, said buIge substantially precluding forward tipping of the chair.` i

References Cited in the ifile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSv 2,537,071 Lukins Jan. 9, 1951 f FORIGN -PATNIS i 680,504 Came Qct- 8. .19152 

